Credits

Description

Je-hwi has no friends. He lives with his parents, shutting himself away in his room at all times. His only real contact with the outside world is by way of online chat rooms. His inability to communicate comfortably with flesh-and-blood people accounts for the cruel taunting he was subjected to at school. It’s something that’s weighed down on him ever since. His awkward shyness, though, is nothing compared to the anger he has bottled up inside, his grudge against his erstwhile tormentors. One day he comes across Jang-hui and saves her from serious injury from a runaway sofa. Thus begins a relationship fraught with nervous hesitancy between the two. Jang-hui tries to pierce the thick shell Je-hwi has formed around his heart—like a wounded animal, his suspicions and defences are always up. It’s exactly the wrong moment for the young man’s past to catch up with him, but fate is like that. Entering the picture is Pyo, a former “buddy” from school who’d made Je-hwi’s life excruciating, and his girlfriend. Though he seems happy to see Je-hwi, Pyo hasn’t entirely let go of his mean-spirited old habits. When the two couples step out for a night of drinking, the situation spirals downward…

Asian films on the topic of bullying roll out as often as Hollywood’s Asian remakes, but WHO’S THAT KNOCKING AT MY DOOR? sets itself apart from the pack with the same ease a steroid-boosted athlete might win a race against one-legged dwarves. The psychological scar tissue left behind by adolescent persecution is explored in this effective cross between Shunji Iwai’s ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU, in its examination of outcast youth, and Park Chan-wook’s SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE in its descent into sordid revenge territory, in which things don’t work out at all as planned. With this directorial debut, which he also scripted, Yang Hae-hoon displays remarkable skill, delivering a poetic, atmospheric work of exceptional force. You’ll find Jimmy Hoffa before you find any weak spots in WHO’S THAT KNOCKING AT MY DOOR?, as every element of the work approaches perfection—doubly impressive in an independent production.